Bruins working to stay motivated as regular season winds down

Monday

Apr 7, 2014 at 11:30 PMApr 7, 2014 at 11:34 PM

The Bruins visit Minnesota on Tuesday night to open a two-game road trip and continue their pursuit of a first-place finish in the NHL. This could be the Bruins' final regular-season game against a playoff-bound team.

Mike Loftus The Patriot Ledger

BOSTON – They’ve got nobody but themselves to blame for creating this situation, but at least so far, the Bruins haven’t created a monster.

What seems like an increasingly lengthy wait for the playoffs to arrive continues tonight at St. Paul, Minn., where the Bruins meet the Wild (8:05, NESN Plus, WBZ-FM/98.5) to open a two-game trip that hits Winnipeg on Thursday night.

There’s still something tangible for the B’s to gain over the final four games of the regular season – first place overall, which would give them the NHL’s President’s Trophy and home ice advantage for as long as they last in the postseason. The Bruins seem to have convinced themselves, though, that there’s more to lose if they don’t take these last games seriously.

“It’s about good habits right now,” said winger Shawn Thornton. “You don’t want to create bad habits, just because of where we are – and we’ve created this scenario.

“But we’re pretty good professionals in this room. We’ve been through a lot and we know we still have to play consistently going into the playoffs.”

Their current 16-1-2 run has assured the B’s of a number of things relatively early – first a playoff berth, then the No. 1 slot the Atlantic Division, and finally, first place in the East, which they clinched with Saturday’s 5-2 victory over Philadelphia. Their lead over St. Louis in the overall standings is at two points, with both teams having four games left.

The B’s have started to talk a little bit more about winning the President’s Trophy since it would result in up to four Game 7s at TD Garden.

“We’ll talk about the (Stanley Cup) final when we get to it,” Thornton said, “but if (home ice for Game 7) is attainable … why not set yourself up for it, just in case?”

A Game 7 showdown could be held as late as June 18, though, and the B’s are trying to stay ready for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs, which they’re expected to open against a still undetermined opponent April 17. They think they’ve been helped by facing a string of opponents who either don’t have a playoff berth sewn up yet or could still improve their position.

That’s the case tonight. The Wild, which visited Winnipeg on Tuesday night, could clinch a berth as soon as tonight, but would presumably want to make sure it’s the first wild-card spot in the West.

“It’s been really good for us, playing (teams) that have something to play for,” said winger Chris Kelly. “They’ve been close games – not lopsided, either way. We’re forced to play a solid 60 minutes and play hard for 60 minutes.’’

The two opponents who follow Minnesota – Winnipeg and Buffalo – have been eliminated from playoff contention. It remains to be seen if the New Jersey Devils, whom the Bruins visit in Sunday’s regular-season finale, will have been eliminated from the wild-card race in the East or need points to qualify.

Bruins coach Claude Julien, proud of his team for continuing to play well and hard with increasingly little to gain, would be surprised if that changed.

“I have pride in a lot of different things,” Julien said. “This year … I think it’s been the focus and the consistency that we’ve shown after a long season last year – finishing at the end of June and (losing) out in Game 6 (of the Cup finals).

“It doesn’t seem like it’s really rattled us. We’re back on our horses and we want to do it all again.”

AROUND THE BOARDS

Winger Jarome Iginla and defenseman Kevan Miller, both nursing what Julien has called “very minor” injuries, didn’t practice on Monday. Iginla, who hasn’t played two of the last three games, and Miller, who didn’t play on Saturday, accompanied the B’s on the trip.

“They’re still day to day because we’re being cautious at this time of year,” Julien said. “(Is there) a chance they could play (on the trip)? Yes.”

Asked if Iginla and Miller could play through their injuries if tonight’s was a playoff game, Julien said “Yes. No doubt.”

Mike Loftus may be reached at mloftus@ledger.com. On Twitter.com: @MLoftus_Ledger.